Chapter Text
She can’t sleep.
Bonnibel lies awake, staring up at the stars that glistened in the cool night sky. She probably should have found more suitable shelter within the forest, sure, but she was confident no vampire would dare bother her. She always slept with one eye open, ready to strike at any moment. It was the greatest skill she possessed in this modern monstrous world, and what she credited for her survival when so many had perished. On nights such as these, she always found her racing thoughts filtering back to one that she knew best in this world. Of any of the Vampire King’s inner circle, Bonnibel was most familiar with the young and talented Star. The Star had the closest bond with the Vampire King, a father and daughter type relationship. It sickened Bonnibel, the way she would talk about him. In her opinion, she doubted the King even cared much for her; it seemed as though he’d only wanted to take advantage of her to grow his army.
She blinked, an unsettled look forming over her face as she sat up from her cot. She gazed out over the horizon line, her eyes scanning the quiet expanse. She had found suitable enough shelter tucked near a tree line, a smaller forest to her left and rolling hills to her right. Her thick, gummy hair fell over the left side of her face, the hunter grunting in dissatisfaction as she reached up to tuck as much as she could behind her ear. She’d been tempted to cut it back, but it helped to keep her slightly warmer during these chilling autumn nights. She’d gotten this… unsettling feeling that she was being watched from somewhere. Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her… she’d had trouble sleeping the past few nights, rendering her weaker and more exhausted than she normally would be. After a few more minutes of painful silence, Bonnibel grew more at ease, finally settling back down on her cot with her eyes facing the sky once more. Soon, she’d let her eyes close, finally feeling the courage to catch up on the sleep she’d been missing.
“… Bonnibel…” A whispering voice, somewhere near her right ear. Her eyes scrunched up in concentration, a scowl slowly forming over her near sleeping face. She’d assumed she was slipping into a dream, one where The Star’s soft voice was whispering to her. “Bonnie,” she heard the whisper again, now near her left ear. Bonnibel’s fingers twitched, her breathing quickening slightly. “I could kill you so easily right now.”
Bonnibel’s eyes shot open, her body lurching into a sitting position and her head whipping to the left. There she was, crouching over Bonnie, that stupid smug smirk plastered on her face. Her hair looked disheveled and her flowing dress dirtier than normal. Her hooded eyes and glistening fangs still sent a shiver down Bonnibel’s spine, her lips trembling for a moment. Where had I put my stake?
“Don’t bother,” The Star hissed, making Bonnie shiver again. It was as if she could read her mind, but she knew in reality they had played this song and dance so many countless times before that she could see Bonnibel’s tells before she ever uttered a word or made a move. It was the one thing she was stuck on in her grueling training.
“What do you want?” Bonnibel tried to sound demanding, but couldn’t shake the tremble in her voice. Why hadn’t she woken up earlier? What was wrong with her? It was like all of her endless hours of training had meant nothing! The Star had every opportunity to kill her, as she’d threatened. Why didn’t she?
“I don’t- what, I can’t visit you?” The Star teased lowly, reaching out with her slender fingers. Bonnie flinched away from her, glaring daggers at the offending hand before relaxing her shoulders slightly as The Star only went to move a piece of her pink hair from her face. In Bonnibel’s haste, she hadn’t realized that the hair had moved forward to cover her left eye again. She really, really needed to cut it.
“Visit me. Really. You’re hilarious,” Bonnie snorted, scooting away so that they weren’t so close. She silently reached out behind her, searching for her travel bag that held her wooden stakes, hoping The Star wouldn’t notice. “You look terrible. The VK finally kick you out? Make you find your own way in the world or something?”
“No!” The Star yelped, rushing to defend her adoptive father’s honor. “No, you ass, of course not. But… he-“ She paused, a deep scowl forming over her face as she noticed Bonnibel’s frantic searching. The Star reached behind her back, coming back with the very bag Bonnie had been blindly searching for.
“Seriously?” Bonnibel groaned, mostly to herself. How had she been so utterly careless as to let her enemy get a hold of her one means of defense? She took a few extra scoots away, making sure there was enough room for her to jump and and sprint if she really had to. Not like she’d make it far, but it was somewhat comforting nonetheless.
The Star scoffed, glancing down to the pack with a look Bonnie couldn’t place before she shrugged and tossed it in Bonnibel’s direction. The hunter yelped, surging forward to grab it as it hit the ground and clutched it close to her chest. “Here, you can have it,” she muttered, seemingly unimpressed with Bonnie’s performance. “Are you really that scared of me?”
“Is that a question you really need to be asking?” Bonnibel retorted in a sour manner, taking a stake from her bag and attaching it to her belt for easy access before slinging the bag over her shoulder. She noticed The Star’s face fell a little at her response, and she felt something tug in the back of her mind. She didn’t dwell on it long, though, as The Star moved to sit in a more comfortable position on the edge of Bonnibel’s cot. “But, seriously, why are you here?”
The Star seemed to hesitate, her mouth hanging open for a moment while she desperately searched for the right words. She soon found herself faltering, finally giving up and hanging her head a little lower. “Look, Bonnibel, I want your help.”
“My help?” Bonnibel echoed, taken aback. “Dude, you- you’re just messing with me, aren’t you? This is some kind of weird, sick joke? What can I do for you that you can’t do yourself? And why would I ever want to help you in the first place?”
“I could drain you in a matter of seconds before you could even think to stake me,” The Star spat, and in an instant she was on top of Bonnibel. The latter was forced down on her back, her head hitting the ground roughly. She winced, turning to glare up at The Star, but the view in front of her made her breath catch in her throat. The Star gazed down at her with piercing red eyes and a small, displeased frown, her fangs poking out from her lips. Her hair flowed from the back of her head, tickling the sides of Bonnibel’s face. She looked as exhausted as Bonnie was, dark rings around the bottoms of her eyes. Bonnibel froze, trying her best to hide her neck as The Star reached down to whisper in her ear. “You’re resourceful, smart, and capable. None of the other vampires would be any help compared to you, they’d only get in my way. And whoever said I didn’t want to spend more time with you?” She whispered against the shell of Bonnie’s ear, their bodies near flush against each other.
Bonnie felt her face growing hot, squirming against The Star’s grip. “… Fine, fine, I get it, just…” Bonnie breathed, she felt so hot, even under the cooling grip of the vampire on top of her. She turned her head to the side, even though her internal voice screamed that she was open, exposed, and maybe that’s-
And then The Star was off of her, and she could breathe again.
“So, we need to find the ice wizard’s crown.”
...
The Star hadn't said anything after mentioning the ice wizard's crown; she simply started walking. Maybe that was her plan, as Bonnie's curiosity overtook her mind the longer she followed. They’d been walking for near an hour at this point, finally out of the trees and now on open ground. They were coming upon a large field of rock formations, and Bonnie felt herself dreading the climb over them. She could see the sky slightly lightening, the tell that the sun would soon be peaking over the horizon. She glanced to her side at The Star, but the vampire didn’t seem too worried about it. “Okay, so let me get this straight,” Bonnibel said at length, running a hand through her hair. “You want me to help you search for some super powerful ice crown for the Vampire King? What the hell is he even going to do with it, anyways?”
“Why should I know?” The Star shrugged, kicking a rock along the grass with her foot as they went along. “He just told me to find it for him, and so I am.”
And we’re just going to wander around the entirety of Ooo until we find it?” Bonnibel asked, frowning. “Who knows where it could be? I have things I need to do, goddamn it!”
“Is spending time with me really that bad?” The Star snickered, making Bonnibel huff and turn her head away as she crossed her arms over her chest. The Star rolled her eyes, giving the rock she’d been idly tumbling a strong kick that had it soaring through the air, landing somewhere far in front of them. “The Vampire King said that one of his spies saw a glimpse of it a few years ago in the ruined city, but didn’t think to grab it. He interrogated a few of the humans still living there, and one of them said they recalled a human named ‘Simon Petrikov’ being in possession of it before the mushroom war, but that’s all of the info he was able to get.”
Bonnibel thought over what The Star had said for a moment, tapping her chin. “… I suppose I could work with that, but the city is pretty huge. It’s going to take us a long while to search through it, just the two of us. Why doesn’t he just send a bunch of his vampires to go looking for it instead?”
The Star hesitated, her left hand balling up into a tight fist. “I… I have no idea. Maybe it’s because he trusts me? He knows I’ll actually bring it back to him in one piece. I wouldn’t trust most of the vampires with a job so big either.”
“… Hmm.” Bonnie hummed, making The Star look up at her with a slightly annoyed look. Bonnibel just gave her a shrug, wincing when she hit her foot hard on a stationary rock a little too hard. She glanced up again to see that the sky had grown a little too bright for her liking, giving The Star a worried look. “You need to find cover, and soon.”
The Star followed her gaze, giving her a little smirk. Bonnibel instantly regretted her statement, grimacing a bit when The Star’s tongue slipped out in a teasing display. “Oohhh, so the big tough Bonnibel actually cares about my wellbeing now? When did this happen?”
“Oh for Glob’s sake, come on, you big idiot!” Bonnibel groaned, and without thinking, reached out to grasp onto The Star’s hand to drag her towards a large rock formation. Even when she did realize what she was doing, she refused to let go until she found a suitable outcropping that looked like it would give them ample shade throughout the day. Once she did, she instantly went to work making them a temporary shelter, while The Star watched her from the sidelines.
She kept clenching and unclenching the hand that Bonnie had touched, deep in thought as she allowed Bonnibel to do what she did best.
Bonnie pulled the small cot she kept in her backpack out, pushing it against the back wall before stripping it of it's sheets. She fastened the blankets to the edge of the outcropping with some of her extra strength bubble gum, letting the ends fall so that shadows enclosed the space. It wasn’t much, but it would be good enough for the time being. Bonnie gestured to the cot, messing with the blanket a little more. “Go ahead," she offered The Star, "it’s not like I’m going to be able to sleep much anyways,” she muttered softly, reaching into her bag to pull out an old book she’d been reading in her spare time. She sat upon the rocky ground, opening it up and paying near no attention to The Star.
The Star hesitated for a moment, frowning. Sure, she’d been having plenty of trouble sleeping herself, but Bonnie looked like she was in the same boat. If she was tired, she wouldn’t be at her best for their search, so the vampire decided she needed sleep as well. She moved to sit at the edge of the cot, reaching out to grab onto Bonnibel’s arm.
“What are you-“ the hunter grumbled, sparing the vampire only a small glance up before she felt herself being pulled onto the cot beside The Star with a small yelp. She tensed up for a few long moments, before she saw the look The Star was giving her and she reluctantly relaxed a little bit.
“You need sleep just as much as I do,” she scolded lightly, huffing and turning over on her side. “Wake me up when the sun goes down.”
Bonnibel felt at a loss of words, blinking at the vampire’s figure for a few moments. She soon just sighed, trying to get as far from her as she could without falling off of the cot. “… Okay,” she mumbled, shutting her book and setting it aside. Bonnie stared up at the cool stone above them, her hands crossed over her chest. She doubted she’d ever be able to sleep with a vampire so close to her, one that had threatened and had tried to kill her on countless occasions, but maybe she could give it a try.
